Other Side of the Trail

This is the continuation of my previous post about Maningala trail. So for those who are not in a position to explore Maningala trail any sooner, I’m posting what is stored for your eyes, just as you walk a few steps along this trail.

You can see this spectacular view, halfway towards the top of Maningala. The village below is Etanwela. Also you can see part of Pitawalapathana towards the top right hand corner. The mountain range is Knuckles.

So now you have seen what is on the other side of the trail.

The Trail

This interesting picture was taken during my recent hike to Maningala. The trail to Maningala is one of the best nature trails I have walked and it takes you through one of the most scenic areas of Sri Lanka.

Don’t you like to walk along this trail and see what is on the other side?

Rukmal Ella

This dazzling waterfall was seen on the way to Dedugala. It is made out of a tributary of Ritigaha Oya, which eventually joins with River Kelani.

Rukmal Ella (waterfall) is situated so close to the road so you can enjoy this view just from the road itself.

To see more scenic images, explore this wonderful site - Scenic Sunday.

A Letter to Younger K

Chavie has tagged me this time and I’m supposed to speak to my own 16 year old self :) So my advice to younger K will be on camping and hiking as usual..

Hi 16 Year old K,

How are things?

I know this is not the easiest age to listen to the advice of older or matured people, but neverthless I wanted to say below few things to you.

Just two months after your sixteenth birthday you will set off for your first major hike in your life. That will be the first of many climbs to Kirigalpoththa. You will camp out at Horton and remember to take two extra pairs of socks and warm blanket. Otherwise you will shiver whole night without any sleep as I did. Ideal would be to take thermal socks and a sleeping bag (but, I know it will be much later that you get those luxuries).

An year or two later you will do a daring hike across the Knuckles region and you will fail miserably if you do not plan it well. Never underestimate the weather in the jungle and 25 km across Knuckles will never be like Colombo to Panadura. Also I’m not asking you to drop your best friends but it is always good to have 6-8 equally fit people if you are doing a very strenuous hike. Never take more than 8 people for your hikes, you will realize why, in your fourth hike to Kirigalpoththa.

Try to get a good haversack that keeps all your belongings tightly packed and always keep two free hands while hiking.

If you want to climb Siripada off season from an off track, study the map at least ten times. Yes, ten times! Otherwise you will spend the night below the mountain, just behind Siripada and spend the whole next day doing circles in the thick rain forest, 'Samanala adaviya’ finding the way out. Moreover you will have to abort the hike and come back to the starting point with blood soaked feet full of leaches.

If you want to climb Saptha Kanya, you have to start from the end of the mountains, never from the middle. Same is applicable to Great Western.

Never camp out in a remote area where there is security threat, without informing the villagers or security personnel. There is a high chance that you might get injured (or even killed), not from the armed ruffians but from your own Army or police.

By the way, take your own camera whenever you go out. I realized now that I have missed many golden opportunities to capture beautiful locations.

I guess this is more than enough for your age and finally I’m posting the scenery from the top of Kirigalpoththa, just to give an impression of what is up there on the top. Forgive me for the bad quality of the picture as it was not taken by a sophisticated digital camera but an old analogue camera when I was 16 years and two months old :)

Keep on Hiking!

Your Buddy,
Older K

Mine will be an open tag :)

Dedugala

Hope you remember the remote village Etanwela, I mentioned some time back. This time I’m taking you to another village in the mountains but situated in a different area.

Dedugala is situated in Kegalle District, in the Dolosbage Mountains. To reach here you have to turn at Bulathkohupitiya on Karawanella – Kegalle road.

The road from Bulathkohupitiya to Dedugala is one of the most beautiful roads I have travelled. The narrow, winding road will take you up the Dolosbage Mountains and if you have a four wheel drive vehicle, you can even end up at Nawalapitiya. Believe me; I saw 6 delightful waterfalls along this road up to Dedugala which was not more than 12 kilometers. Some of the prominent ones are mentioned below and like in another trip; I saw a few anonymous waterfalls as well.

• Nalagana Ella
• Rikilla Ella
• Rukmal Ella
• Ritigaha Oya

The above picture shows the village, Dedugala.

Kelani Ganga

'Ganga’ is river in native language. Sri Lanka is rich with rivers and other water resources. One of the most interesting features is the high number of rivers flowing from the middle of the country and ending in the Indian Ocean like a cart wheel.

The four main rivers are Mahaweli, Kelani, Kalu and Walawe. These rivers and their tributaries flow through the most scenic areas in the island before meeting the Indian Ocean.

The above picture of the River Kelani was captured at Karawanella.

You may click the labels below to see more about these rivers and their tributaries.